So little air
by Yhoretta
Summary: The Doctor, Rose and Jack are trapped in an alien cell on an alien planet. Again. Unfortunately, flattening the Duke's cat doesn't get you many friends. Now they face a big problem: One room, 3 people, 25 minutes of air. It's escape or die.
1. Mr Fluffy-Scales

She hated when these things happened. The day would always start with the Doctor promising a trip to _**insert beautiful planet name here**_ which never seemed to pull through. And now -as it frequently did- the day had ended with Rose, Jack and the Doctor tied up in a cell on a completely _different_ alien planet than promised. Outside the cold, damp cell, three figures waited patiently for their leader to return. They looked as though someone had given three lumps of clay to a toddler and told them to create people. The aliens were faceless and featureless with sloppy bodies and dull, grey skin. Jack had already tried flirting with each of them but to no avail.

"Excuse me," said Rose, attempting once again to spark a conversation with the guards. The female knelt on the floor and placed her hands on the bars, almost blending in with the colour. She elicited a low grumbling from her invisible mouth which managed to throw the human off her game.

"I...I was just wondering if we had any chance of being let out," continued Rose, "he _did_ say he was sorry after all." She gestured awkwardly at the Doctor with her head, seeing as her arms were firmly bound behind her back with chafing metal cuffs. Jack nodded eagerly to reassure the guard. Unfortunately the alien just shook her lumpy head and stood up, melting back into formation with the other two.

"What now Doctor?" asked Rose.

The Time Lord had (surprisingly) been silent for the majority of their time in the cell. He dragged himself across the ground using his tied feet as an anchor and shuffled up next to Rose. Jack soon joined them.

"When their leader comes back we must convince him to take out my sonic screwdriver," hissed the Doctor. "Then, we direct the leader to press the right button and release us."

"Then what?" said Jack.

"Then we run."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just, _apologize_?" asked Rose, dryly.

"I'm not apologizing to anyone again," affirmed the Doctor. "Besides, I didn't mean to land the TARDIS on his pet cat."

Just as Rose was about to open her mouth and spit back a retort, the lead alien ( Sir Jhagee, Duke of the planet Ulorian.) slipped into the outside room and peered into the cell with non-existent eyes.

"That's them alright," he said, pointing a fat finger at the Doctor. "Deposit them into the _**Bampira**_. They could have no possible use to us. Make sure they pay for murdering Mr. Fluffy-Scales. I do not want to see them ever again. Understood?"

The guards nodded, latching open the barred door and dragging out the prisoners, one by one. Sir Jhagee watched with disdain as Rose reached out instinctively for the Doctor's hand, and in turn, Jack's.

"Send them away! They disgust me," he commanded, kicking the ankles of the guards. They obediently dragged the trio through the dull hallways (Over some seriously rough terrain. Ouch!) and tossed them into another empty room, only this time they were untied and there were no bars, just a solid mass of grey walls.

"We are not entirely cruel..." mused the female guard, leaning against the sides. There was no door of any kind, just a large opening in the middle. "...and since we are not as harsh as some people would make us out to be, you have _25 minutes_ to say your farewells before you run out of air." Her voice was raspy and quiet as if it hadn't been used in a while, but there were definitely traces of a smile, hidden between the words. Unfortunately it wasn't a nice smile.

"Let's jump her," whispered Jack. He was still rubbing his wrists where the shackles had been removed.

"No, look," replied the Doctor, pointing to the alien. She was already flanked by two other lumpy guards. Both would have had bloodthirsty expressions on their faces, if they had faces that is. They both pointed their guns at the prisoners, daring them to try anything.

"So long!" the female slammed her hand on an unseen button which caused the far wall to spring to life. Strands of liquid grey sprung out from one side and latched themselves onto the other, effectively knitting together the wall until the opening was gone. There was only darkness.

"Doctor?" began Rose. She fumbled around in the inky black space until she had a reassuring grip of his jacket.

"Yes Rose?"

"How're we gonna get out of this one?"


	2. Something I could do

"Jack, check the walls. Try to find a circuit, some wires, anything," ordered the Doctor. "I didn't see any when we were thrown in but they may be hidden."

"I don't think there's anything here," declared Jack, fumbling his large hands over the confines of their airless prison. Rose broke away from the Doctor, helping with the search.

Suddenly the familiar screeching of the sonic screwdriver filled the room. The Time Lord was aiming it at each wall. Nothing happened. No secret doors, no escape, no circuits. At least the sonic gave a little bit of light.

"I'm putting it in silent mode," said the Doctor, "we can at least use it as a flashlight."

"I didn't know it had a silent mode," teased Rose.

"There are a lot of things you don't know _Rose Tyler_. Least of all about my sonic screwdriver!"

Jack rolled his eyes, not that anyone could see it very clearly. He shuffled into the small, blue light of the device and guided the pink and yellow human to his side. The Doctor knocked on the walls. They were definitely solid. No doubt about it.

"25 minutes, I can do this, no problem," he muttered, walking the square of the _**Bampira**_ and taking the light with him. The room was small in width and length but still large enough to hold an average-sized car with a ceiling that seemed to stretch infinitely upwards.

"Doctor, if this place is so big, how are we loosing air so quickly?" asked Jack.

"Look up," said the Doctor, pointing high on the far wall. A set of four large 'pipes' were rattling away quietly, ruthlessly sucking away precious oxygen. Very fast. Very efficient. Their metal glowed faintly, allowing for a small bubble of light against the walls.

"24 minutes," sighed Rose, glancing at the Doctor's watch. He pulled his arm away, not needing her to bring down his slowly waning confidence. Jack Harkness slumped to the floor and pulled a banana out of his jacket pocket, the same one that had been there since that ordeal with the nanogenes.

"That gives me an idea," announced Rose, snatching up the brown fruit from Jack's hand. "Do you still have your squareness gun?"

"Left it on the TARDIS. Otherwise I would have used it."

"Oh."

"Anymore bright ideas?" snapped the Doctor. Rose deflated, sitting down dejectedly.

"Hey, she was just trying to help," growled Jack. The Doctor turned his back, feeling awful. He twiddled the sonic screwdriver in his hands, causing the light to flash around the room like a disco-ball, illuminating far off corners and sending dancing shadows across the walls.

"Is it just me or is it suddenly harder to breathe?" asked Rose, pulling at her collar. Jack leaned over to the Doctor and took the man's wrist. The watch very clearly declared that there were 23 minutes left. He let the arm drop.

Rose scooched over to the Doctor and squeezed his hand. All was forgiven. Even though it was sweet and just so _her_, it burned him that it was that easy. He knew in that moment that he had to earn that forgiveness, but to buy them time would be to do the complete opposite.

Jack tried to reach the pipes up above, even going so far as to have Rose on his shoulders, but they were just too impossibly high to even graze with one's finger. The Doctor began pacing. This was bad. If he was pacing then he was stumped. Out of ideas. Not good.

"Maybe we can try talking to the aliens," suggested Rose. She pounded on the wall (That had once been a door) furiously.

"You knocked?" asked a voice. It seemed to resonate from the very pipes that were devouring the room's oxygen.

"Yea, I knocked," barked Rose. "Let us out of here right now! You can't just suffocate us for _accidentally_ squashing a_ cat!_"

"The Duke's cat."

"It doesn't matter," interjected Jack, "this is unfair and unusual punishment. We didn't even get tried!"

The voice switched off, not bothering to reply. The trio sat together on the floor, watching the mesmerizing light of the sonic. Waiting. Just, waiting.

_19 minutes of air._

"There is something I could do," whispered the Doctor, his words barely audible. Rose and Jack dragged their eyes away from the light, boring into him. He turned his head away. The captain suddenly clued in.

"Don't," said Jack.

"It would buy you at least 5 minutes, maybe more."

"Someone, please tell me what's going on," sighed Rose.

"I could go into a coma and use my respiratory bypass system. I've done it before and I wouldn't have to breathe...it would give you more time to figure out an escape but it would mean that I can't help you."

Rose shuffled in front of him and took a hold of his collar with both hands on either side of his neck. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but the words died on her tongue. Instead, she simply pulled him in for a hug, not trusting herself to speak.

"Goodbye for now Rose Tyler," croaked the Doctor. He nodded to Jack. "You too Captain." The humans began to protest.

"Shut up the both of you," snapped the Time Lord, passing the sonic screwdriver to Jack. "Just, be brilliant. You can do it." He passed out. Onto the floor. Not breathing.

_17 minutes of air. _


	3. Gymnastic grace

"Doctor, wake up!" cried Rose, shaking the unmoving body. Jack pried her hands away.

"We can't waste any time worrying about him," he reasoned. "At most we have an extra five minutes. He wouldn't want us to use that up." To prove his point Jack showed her the Doctor's watch.

_22 minutes. _

"What happened to the leather-clad one?" boomed the voice of the Duke. Jack and Rose lifted their heads to the pipes. "Can he not hold his air?"

"It's no concern of yours," grumbled Jack, holding up what looked like a _very_ rude hand signal, one that Rose didn't even recognise.

"Watch your manners, alien scum. You're lucky you were given this time to say farewell. It is not my fault that the big-eared one died."

"Hey, his ears aren't _that_ b...wait, you can see us!" exclaimed Rose. The Duke didn't reply. He seemed to be mumbling to someone else on the other end.

"There must be some kind of night-vision camera on the pipes," said Jack, pointing to them accusingly. He aimed the sonic screwdriver at the pipes, hoping he could somehow shut off their stream. Sadly, nothing happened, it didn't even close the vents, it was completely and utterly useless.

"Come on! How can this room be so...impossible?" sighed Rose. She glided over to the shadows and picked up the discarded banana, tossing it absentmindedly in the air. Then, without thinking, she threw it to Jack who caught it in his free hand. They began a sort of game. Procrastinating at the worst of times, but it somehow made the situation a little more bearable.

"What's in the Doctor's pockets?" asked Jack, dropping the banana in a moment of inspiration. He slid his hands into the leather jacket and pulled out a strange assortment of items:

A yo-yo, some twine, a picture of Rose and Jack, another picture of a curly-haired man in a scarf with his arm around a short woman with brown hair, and a miniature book entitled 'How to juggle while balancing on a tightrope.'

"I'm sure the Doc's not gonna be too happy about me pickpocketing him while he's out for the count. Still, I can't believe this is all he's got."

Rose scanned the pile of junk and picked up the hand-length twine. She instinctively gave it a short tug. The string began to grow wider and longer, stretching further and further until a mile sized rope was coiled on the floor where Rose had dropped the twine.

"Now this, I can work with," said Jack, grinning broadly. He heaved the large rope over his shoulder and braced himself against the wall, under the pipes.

"Get on," he instructed, patting his knees. Rose obediently placed her sneakered feet on his legs and dragged herself onto the time agent's shoulders so that her bum was on his neck. She was extremely glad in this moment to be wearing jeans. Jack slowly fed her the rope and told her to stand up. He hoisted her with great strength despite his shaking knees.

"Try to hook it around the pipes," he groaned. Rose used her gymnastic (Bronze medal baby!) grace to lean against the wall and stand up, throwing the rope. It hooked around one of the pipes and as if it _knew _what she wanted, it tied itself into a fancy knot.

"I wish the Doctor carried this more often," she said admirably.

"Yeah," grumbled Jack. "Less talking, more climbing." He sunk a little, having to dig his heels into the ground to keep supporting her. Rose tugged the rope. That pipe was surprisingly strong. Working as one mind, She and Jack moved in sync to help her up. He took hold of her feet and gave her a little more leverage.

Rose scaled the wall, throwing a wistful glance at the unconscious Doctor. She hated heights. But he would have done it. So there were no complaints.

"I wonder...why...the Doctor...didn't use this before," puffed Rose. The air was getting very thin already.

"He probably forgot he had it, knowing him. Now, be very...careful Rose. Once you get to the pipe you'll have to...check if there are any doors or service hatches. These things usually have them," called Jack.

"Oh, and you'd know?" teased Rose, having to take large gulps to get enough oxygen.

Jack smiled knowingly but kept his eyes trained on her in case anything happened. He quickly glanced down at the Doctor's watch, holding the sonic to shed some light.

_9 minutes of air._

"I don't see anything!" moaned Rose, dangling near the pipes. A loud shuffling could be heard from the middle one as the Duke assumingly leaned closer to his intercom. The human's ears picked up the faint humming of air being sucked from the room, but no doors.

"Come on...Rose, look harder," coaxed Jack. Suddenly she saw it, a thin line of silver against the dull grey. She stroked her fingers against the fracture. A door-shaped hole to un-knit itself from the wall. The exit was big enough for them to all crawl through, single file.

"Wake up the Doctor, I've found the way out!" yelled Rose, dragging herself into the hole. She rubbed her sore hands together as Jack shook the Timelord.

"He won't wake...up," gulped the captain. Rose leaned over the edge worriedly. Jack shook the Doctor again and even slapped him a few times, but he remained still.

"His...hearts are still beating. We'll have...to leave him here and come back."

Rose nodded reluctantly, tears threatening to fall from her soft, brown eyes. She wiped them away bravely and held the rope in place while Jack began his ascent. After this was all over, Rose knew she never wanted to tell The Doctor that they'd left him behind. Never.

"What are you doing?!" cried the Duke of Uloria. Jack heaved himself into the hole, forcing Rose to shuffle ahead.

"Stop! No!" Growled the Duke. They ignored him and began crawling through the winding maze of tunnels. It was just like it was in the movies when people escaped via the air vents. Except, this wasn't a movie, and there was no air.

_2 minutes._

Rose stumbled, her arms collapsed under her and she fell, hitting her chin on the floor.

"Come on...you c...can do it," said Jack, panting already from the thin oxygen. "We don't have time to waste." The girl picked herself up and moved sluggishly along, a pounding headache sending her vision in dizzy circles. Finally they reached a dead end. On the wall was a blaring red button. Rose slammed her hand onto it, desperate for something to happen. The result was joyous. The vent opened up to another small room, populated with the Duke and his three guards. Rose and Jack gasped desperately for air, filling their lungs.

"Get them!" ordered the Duke. Jack hurled the Doctor's yo-yo at the lumpy creature. It struck him in the head, sinking into the 'clay' with a disgusting squelch. But it was enough to knock him off his feet in surprise. Rose picked up the intercom device from one of the desks and followed Jack's example of throwing it at the Ulorians. The clunky machine knocked out the female guard.

"Nice shot!" shouted the captain, approvingly, flashing a thumbs-up. He delivered a kick to the first male Ulorian, took his gun and shot the other.

"Don't worry. I've got the phaser set on stun," assured Jack.

"Well _Captain Kirk_, what do we do now?" asked Rose. She turned and glared at the hundreds of computer monitors that lined the walls, all showing a different room. Her eyes stuck to the one that showed the Doctor, unconscious and waiting.

"I'll _tell you_ what we do now Miss Tyler," said Jack cockily swishing the gun and placing it in his pocket:

"We get out of here, we kick some alien butt, and we rescue the Doctor."


	4. Cross my hearts

Sir Jhagee groggily pulled himself to his feet and lunged for Captain Jack, who immediately dodged and sent the creature flying into the corner of the room. He held the phasor to the Duke.

"Do you know who I am?" cried the Ulorian, outraged. "I am the Duke of-"

_Zap!_

"Thanks for knocking him out. He was irritating," said Rose, not paying her full attention.

"Believe me, it was my pleasure," replied Jack, sheathing the gun. He leaned against the desk beside her and looked up at the screens. His fingers gently grazed the multitude of buttons that lay in between each monitor, judging which one to push without the help any labels whatsoever.

"This one?"

Rose bit her lip and nodded. It was as much a guess for her as it was for him. Jack pressed it.

One of the screens flickered off. He pressed a different one. This time the wall un-knit itself so that a large, gaping hole provided an exit into the halls. The two humans practically _dived_ outside, heading to the _**Bampira**_.

"Doctor! Wake up," commanded Rose, shaking his limp form. Jack had barely opened the airless room when she'd sprinted straight for the Timelord. His hearts were beating normally but he was unmoving, dead to the eye.

Her cheeks were wet with tears.

"We need to get him back to the TARDIS...so she'll help us," coaxed Jack.

"I just hope she _can_," sobbed Rose, hooking her arms under the Doctor's and lifting as the captain took his legs.

They weren't stopped on their journey to the TARDIS. Uloria had no qualms with the strangers, only their Duke held such a grudge. The duo lowered their friend to the ground. Rose's fingers traced lazy circles on the Doctor's chest as she sat with him. Jack sidled up to a friendly-looking Ulorian and began sweet talking him, convincing the alien to open the wall for them to pass.

Rose's hand froze. She had expected to hear the gentle beating of the Doctor's left heart as her movements stopped. There was nothing. Rose quickly placed her ear to the other side of his chest to find that his right heart still beat steadily.

"Jack, we're losing him!" she exclaimed, grasping the Doctor's collar. The Ulorian 'gate-keeper' let them pass, which they did. In fact, their haste and speed would have made Road-Runner cry.

The TARIDS doors swung open far before the humans had even come close. She knew.

"Thanks old girl," said Rose in a very Doctor-like fashion. Jack jerked his chin to the TARDIS halls, in the rough direction of the medical bay.

"Why won't he wake up?"

Jack ignored the question. He knew that she didn't _really_ want an answer. Just results. His hands flew like daggers in the wind, searching through the clutter of equipment in the small white room. The Doctor was still motionless, lying on the starch, white bed.

Finally Jack pulled out a clear breathing mask attached to a tube. He connected the end of it to a machine on the wall simply entitled: 'air'. Rose snatched the mask from him in desperation and immediately placed it over the Doctor's mouth.

"ROSE."

Jack nearly fell back in shock, just as Sir Jhagee had done. The Doctor spluttered under the mask and filled his lungs with air. His eyes stayed glued on Rose.

"It's okay, we made it Doctor. We're all safe," she said, running a comforting hand along his forehead. Jack chuckled and leaned against the air machine.

"Good to see you're still alive and kicking Doc', we'd almost given up on you," he teased. The Time Lord smiled weakly. Suddenly he grasped his chest as a look of pure agony flashed across his face.

"What is it? What's wrong?!" cried Rose.

"My...heart..." stuttered the Doctor, furiously pounding the left side of his chest like some kind of wild animal. Jack picked up a futuristic-looking defibrillator and gave it to Rose.

"I wouldn't trust myself to do it right," he said in uncharacteristic honesty, his head drooping like a scolded child's. Rose tightened her grip on the machine and tried to remember what she'd seen in hospital dramas and movies.

"Alright, hold still," she ordered, rubbing the two parts together. The Doctor began to protest, but his head lolled tiredly on the bed.

"Er...CLEAR!"

The Doctor jumped up as a surge of electricity revived him. He tore off the breathing mask with his usual, boundless energy. Jack and Rose began to fuss over him.

"I'm okay, really you two! I'll be fine!"

Rose tackled him in a hug. She nuzzled her face into the crook of his shoulder and enjoyed his familiar smell, something she thought was lost forever. The Doctor noticed Jack standing awkwardly on his own.

"Come on then big fella," he sighed. The captain joined their hug, grinning almost as widely as Rose, if that was possible.

"Alright, get off," said the Doctor, a smile dancing on his lips. He stood to his feet and rubbed his sore back (lying on a floor for a long time can really hurt after a while).

"Where to now gang?" He winced slightly at his choice of words. Jack and Rose followed him into the console room. They all leaned around the controls as the Doctor already began to flick switches and push buttons at random.

Rose looked at Captain Jack and winked.

"Surprise us!" she announced.

"I'm punching in random coordinates as we speak," he replied cheekily, as if he'd _really_ been waiting for her answer.

"Let's go to Yanduura, planet of the snakes," suggested the Doctor, laughing at his companion's reactions. Their faces were priceless!

"Why not eh? Where's your spirit of adventure? Besides, it would be a great place to find Sir Jhagee a new pet. Perhaps a viper or a cobra...who knows? Either way, I know this time we're going to get where I said we would go,

cross my hearts."


End file.
